The present application generally relates to medical devices. More particularly, the present application relates to devices for implantation within a body vessel, such that the body vessel is supported and kept open.
Many cannula cut intraluminal support devices on the market at present have an open cell geometry so that these devices are flexible enough to conform to the shape of the vessel in which they are to be implanted, and to have good properties with regard to fatigue life. These devices, though, can experience non-uniform deployment when delivered percutaneously. In some cases, the devices can be misaligned, have a distortion of the geometry, or have various portions of the device protrude. End rings in particular may be more susceptible to this type of issue because they only neighbor another ring on one side.
Both self-expanding and balloon-expandable support devices can exhibit this problem of non-uniform deployment. In the case of a balloon-expandable device, the non-uniformity may be seen as a result of the crimping process when the device is placed over a balloon, compressed, and packaged in advance of delivery.
It has been a challenge to develop an intraluminal support device which minimizes or eliminates the problem of non-uniform delivery from the compressed state to the expanded state.